Boom. (coutresy townhall.com)

Thousands of TTAG readers live in slave states, watching the light of liberty flicker in the face of civilian disarmament. Thousands of readers live in free America; states that respect Americans’ RKBA. Either way, gun guys have had to work their way through their initial post-Newtown shock, find their figurative feet and defend their God-given and/or natural right to armed self-defense. In the middle of a historic guns and ammo drought. So . . . how ya doin’ now? Have bare shelves at the LGS got you freaked? Are you feeling optimistic or pessimistic about your gun rights? Resolved, scared or some combination thereof? Spill.

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114 COMMENTS

  1. I’m in Ohio which has a pretty passionate shooting and hunting community. Pretty sure any attempt at more gun legislation would meet with a lot of resistance. My local gun stores seem to be well stocked, actually. ARs are back in stock several places. The only thing that seems to be in short supply is 9 mm and 22.

    • Ohio here as well. I’m seeing ARs, and mags but no ammo. The gun debate has taken a backseat to trying to find ANY quantity of 9mm, 5.56 or .223. Haven’t even seen a 20rd box in months.

      • Also Ohio here. Put a 9mm pistol on layaway right after James Holmes… Paid it off right after Adam Lanza, and somehow made the mistake to only grab one box of ammunition… I’m still looking at that box of ammunition. It would make a good range day for a newbie like me and his girlfriend. The sad thing is that I know if I shot it all up then I’d be out of luck finding ANYTHING else until this all blows over. I think there are guys just making rounds at all the local WalMarts and grabbing every box after they pull them off the trucks. The local funstores only have defensive rounds as of yet. Hopefully this all blows over sooner rather than later.

        • You know, you CAN use those “defensive rounds” for a fun day of shooting, right? Just checking. They shoot like any other round, pretty much. Just cost more.

        • Yes, but even the price gouger Rem UTC boxes on Gunbroker are cheaper-per-round. My problem is that I fear frivolous spending to the point where I’ve become quite a bore, and even if I WERE a spendthrift I simply do not have tons of money. I appreciate your attempt to educate me though. 🙂

        • Actually, it’s a good idea to shoot a couple of hundred rounds of defense ammo. Make sure your 9mm handles it well, and lets you know how the gun feels shooting that ammo. It does tend to kick a little more than practice rounds.

        • Also in Ohio here – other than ammo scarcity, things are good. We’ve had a couple of anti-gun bills proposed (scary looking weapons ban and mandatory “safe” storage), but they won’t go anywhere. We’ve also had a bill introduced to block enforcing new Federal bans and a bill to block the media from accessing CCW records.

  2. I’m trying to figure out if buying a mini14 or AR15 lower is worth the hassle, especially since I’m unlikely to shoot either that often. One side of me says that it’d be a great investment, especially if they’ll be grandfathered in here in MD. The other says the more landmines I can avoid the less trouble I’ll be making for myself. Also, while I can get my hands on some 30-40 round mags, I don’t want to buy a gun and find out I’m restricted to 10 round magazines after the fact. Plus, cash is limited. Still got plenty of .22lr in my stash, though I think I’m going to back order a few thousand rounds just to be careful. Bugs the hell out of me that I started shooting 4 years ago with 10mm and .45 and now I’m limited to .22.

    • mini 14 and mini 30 ranch rifles are cash and carry in MD. I just bought one. only the “folding stock” models are regulated banned.

    • Buy the lower, or two. I am kicking myself for not grabbing a couple last month. Arggh.

      • Any particular reason?
        I’d be throwing the cash out to buy the lower now and the upper (either a .22lr or .450bushmaster) later.

        • MD resident here, I got a lower to build up. I was also looking at a Mini 14 but went with the AR because the grabbers are using it as the poster child for evil. Just as a middle finger really.

  3. Here in western PA, I feel that we’re on the frontier of freedom-loving Appalachia and gun-grabbing New England. I feel relatively safe from PA state law for now, but the fight is especially important here. Items are just starting to return to the shelves, but ammo is still marked up significantly where available.

    • Western PA here too…I see bare shelves for a lot of calibers and high prices where they weren’t before. I luckily have a good store nearby! Not much increase.

    • “I think the big, minority-filled, government-dependent cities are going to out-breed us and that we are doomed.”

      Isn’t that better? It’s going to be every bit as tough as you fear it will be. Solutions needed! How about TAKE A WELFARE MAMA SHOOTING days in the country? Folks with buses and minibuses have a leg up here. Have a central pick-up and bring-back point, with, of course, “licensed” shooting instructors. Stress FUN FUN FUN and practicality, too….

      It’s going to take some heroic effort just to NOT LOSE. Don’t even THINK about winning, for now.

      • Hey the man asked me how I felt.

        That’s how I feel, and truth be told I don’t worry so much about minorities as I do the sex ratio of citizens. More women living in more urban areas are our doom.

    • Allowed themselves to be railroaded. Don’t blame it on anyone else. ACCEPT THE BLAME, learn from it, and keep pushing. It worked for Jesse Jackson, didn’t it?

      • William, when the U.S. Government passes the same laws are you going to accept credit for it. You live in the United States (I assume) so when it happens, it must be your fault.

  6. Even though I live in Texas, I am concerned that things will happen on a Federal level that will restrict my rights. I travel a lot and worry that changes in states will put me at risk in states that right now have reciprocal agreements with Texas. My greatest worry though comes from reading and listening to politicians and others who pretend to be operating out of logic or say they are doing things to prevent a repeat of Newtown, but who really operate out of emotion and enact legislation that will have not prevent anything except restrict or eliminate my rights.
    I am pessimistic about the future and worry that I will have to chose between keeping the means to defend myself from the government (of all levels) and being a felon.
    The Constitution no longer provides effective limits on government. How do we restore the power of the Constitution?

    • First ask yourself if you will comply with unconstitutional actions to disarm you and your friends of like mind. If you don’t know that, you haven’t taken the first step. KNOW THYSELF before taking action.

      Davy Crockett: “First make sure (sometimes quoted as “be sure”) you’re right, then go ahead.”

      He also said, “You can go to hell; I’m going to Texas.”

      While the larger-than-life aspect of Texas and Texans doesn’t appeal to me (an understatement if I ever made one), its values do. As do the core values of the West, especially the Southwest.

      When I lived in northern NM, I avoided the town of Red River for this very reason: it was overrun with expatriate Texans who talked of nothing but Texas! If it’s so fantastic, LEAVE NEW MEXICO ALONE. (Are you LISTENING, Gov. Martinez?)

      • I ask that all Sons of Liberty, who are considering relocating to another State, seriously consider Texas…and here is why;

        I live in Austin, and I can tell you that it is turning a dire shade of purple, as are several other large metro areas. We need all the conservative, pro 2nd blood we can get, to prevent any serious outbreaks of Coloradoistis. Progressivism is indeed a cancer, and like all cancer, the earlier you can catch it and treat it, the greater your chances of survival.

  7. I am feeling optimistic because:
    1. the gun grabbers have finally unmasked themselves as such, particularly in MD.
    2. Even better, the statistics they are armed with are the same old suicide-infused intellectually dishonest unpersuasive stuff they have been doing for years.
    3. people, even in MD are slowly coming to the realization that the bills were a political favor to O’malley and wont improve safety.
    4. A bunch of SCOTUS and appellate cases are likely coming up. Kagan is a gun owner. I think libs are sorely mistaken so count her in their camp. And after looking at voting rights and gay rights, I really dont think that SCOTUS will take kindly to restricting other rights. Even the very liberal 4th circuit said that the RKBA for self defense for law abiding citizens must be held to strict scrutiny.
    5. over 80% of people, even in MD, think that they have the right to protect themselves and their family with firearms, even in MD. A right severely restricted or delayed is a right denied.

    look, i know people feel pessimistic because the progressives launched (what feels like a coordinated surprise) an attack and it feels at the moment like we are losing. i look at it differently. NY had to ram through their bills before they could be debated. In MD, the longer the bill got debated, the more people became aware, the more the bill stank. There is a reason gun control legislation has not been passed in MD in 20 years. We were complacent and so we lost. Now, we are not.

    • I know you mean well but it seems like you are cherry picking your data and then looking at it through rose colored glasses. Here in Crazyfornia I am not at all optimistic about my gun rights. And, at the Federal level we are still at risk of very bad gun laws getting passed. We need to keep Republicans and Red State Democrats feet to the fire or we are toast.

      • My thinking is that if government can pass Obamacare, even though it was polling at around a 40% approval rating, then politicians will not care about constituent concerns about gun laws.

        The policiticians in this country are now a ruling class and as such, the people be hanged.

      • Concur. With a dem governor and both state legislature and senate dem controlled a great deal of mischief can be done before common-sense and voter outrage builds and then its a hard slog to undo the damage. April 16th will be interesting. See the earlier post from GOA or Calguns for more. Some say as CA goes so goes the Nation…I hope not but my crystal ball got broke Nov 2012. STFB gents…

    • “Kagan is a gun owner.”

      Let me complete that thought.
      “Kagan is a gun owner who will vote exactly the way the DNC tells her to vote.”

      • You should read the things Scalia has posted about going hunting with Kagan. I’m not expecting her to uphold the Second Amendment, but there is at least a faint glimmer of hope that we’ll get some 6-3 pro-gun SCOTUS decisions.

  8. I plead the Fifth Amendment because the Government is monitoring all communications and may take my comments as a sign of dental misability!!!

  9. Here in MI, shelves are bare..firearms are slowly trickling back onto the shelves. Our CPL laws seem to be improving, and last year suppressors were finally allowed. I’m unaware of any pending new anti-gun legislation.

    There are plenty of people that don’t get it though, and they buy into believing that background checks will somehow save the day.

    I have a standing offer to all my friends on Facebook (pro or anti) to come and shoot with me. I think the misconception people have a it evil black rifles will quickly fade when they get the satisfaction of hitting a 100 yard target, or ringing a gong at 2-300 yards.

    I’m getting ready to take my father in law shooting today. We’re going to an indoor steel plate range. He hasn’t shot a handgun since he was an MP back in the Vietnam era. He’s going to be pleased with the new M&P Pro that I have for him.

  10. My state is doing fine; Indiana is a wonderful state for gun-owners (shall-issue permits with no training requirement that can be issued at 18 rather than 21 and that don’t expire, no ABW, etc.). The only problem is that I’m a university student. Even though we don’t have a law banning campus carry (so it’s legal by default), all of the universities in our state do so anyway (along with anything even remotely resembling a firearm; a while back I saw someone cited by campus security for an obviously plastic AK-47 with an bright orange tip.). So, I can’t own guns at all unless I want to risk getting expelled.

    • Expelled for being within state law. How charming. Not picking on the Hoosier State. I’m picking on tyranny, petty or grand.

      If schools are really serious about the absurd-on-its-face in loco parentis doctrine, shouldn’t they be providing ACTUAL PROTECTION, instead of rhetoric?

  12. No, I will not disclose how I feel since in modern America feelings are more real and dangerous than facts and truths and therefore feelings must always be hid away somewhere secret unless of course one’s feelings are part of and in support of the new Social Collective.

  13. Having had our collective asses handed to us, I am feeling rather pessimistic about exercising my gun rights. I am toying with getting my CCW, but given the current political climate, I’m not all that certain I want my name on a list somewhere. Sure, the state knows I bought a hunting rifle awhile back, but the rest were all bought from friends or taken in trade. As far as actually buying something retail, shelves have been bare in Colorado for awhile. Had two(!) new local gun stores open in the last 3 months, and yet they hardly have anything in stock. The big box stores in Denver and the Springs have nothing. No bullets, no handguns. Hell, they didn’t even have .300winmag. Makes a man want to get into archery. Almost.

    • If you won’t use ’em, you will most certainly lose ’em. He who hesitates is lost. I mean REALLY LOST. No bellyaching when it’s too late, OK?

  14. In Austin I have been able to find .22, 9mm, 40sw, 45acp, .223, 5.56, and .308 pretty regularly at Academy and WallyWorld. Not everytime i go but every week i find something at retail prices. Even cci minimags sometimes. Firearm inventory is creeping back in. But I went from collecting guns to now collecting ammo. Still enough ammo here to shoot if you want. For the most part i just shoot .22lr now and sporting clays. Texas or die.

    • Ach. My nearly Wally’s stopped carrying anything but hunting cartridges and shotgun shells (and not even .410!) nearly a year ago. Anyone got a Stinger missile? This isn’t even HUNTING COUNTRY. That’s 45 minutes away.

      (Carnivore: IT WAS JUST A JOKE!!)

  15. I’m feeling determined and optimistic. I don’t think we can afford to get all FUD as we have work to do. To quote a line from Predator “I ain’t got time to bleed”…

    Stay sharp; don’t let the sheepl hive mind get to you. This is a fight between good and evil and we are the Good Guys (and Gals), we have truth on our side!!! The only way they can win in the long run is if we give up…

  16. I’m in Colorado. I’m angry and resolved. DeGette is my congresscritter, so there’s no hope there although I continue to register my opinion with her office. I’ve contributed as much as I can to SAF and RMGO, and am supporting selected recall efforts. I intend to campaign for whoever runs against Hickenlooper and Udall in 2014. By that time I’ll live in a different district in the state, and will be active in whatever local races are relevant.

  17. I’m not too worried in the short term, living in Texas. I have high hopes that after Obama’s disastrous 8-year reign the country will migrate back towards the right all this will be nothing more than an unpleasant memory.

    Ammo still isn’t “readily available” but online sources and big box retailers make it fairly easy to obtain.

    • Whatever gave you the notion he’ll be gone after eight years? Ever hear of a STATE OF EMERGENCY? It’s easy to come by – you just have “your people” create the emergency, then declare a state of it. You think the FBI wouldn’t love it? You think Congress wouldn’t breathe a sign of relief, to BE relieved of their onerous duties, and still collect their salaries?

      • Possible, however highly unlikely. It would be easier and more effective for them just to get somebody just like him elected in 2016, the agenda continues and no need for the state of emergency and all that pesky civil unrest.

    • An acronym for an acronym… my head is starting to hurt… 🙂 GREAT name by the way…

  19. Even though I hail from NYC and have to deal with the absurdedly named SAFE Act, I’m optimistic. Nothing major will happen at the federal level. It’s an open question about how SCOTUS will rule on issues like the AWB, mag cap restrictions and CCW, but the signs are encouraging–even the liberal leaning 2nd Circuit held restrictions on gun ownership in the home were subject to strict scrutiny.

  20. Feeling good about our gun rights. If we keep fighting they will be ensured. Butt-hurt about the ammo situation. And my gun safe is where I want it minus the upper portion of my AR.

    • The only thing “ensured” is continued efforts, ploys and manufactured situations towards the aim of disarming us. NOTHING else is certain. YOU snooze with a smile on your face. I ain’t doin’ it.

      THEY. WILL. NEVER. STOP.

  21. Well, I live in California with 40 something new gun laws working their way toward approval and surrounded by anti gun idiots. Depressed. Still fighting as others here are doing but not to optimistic.

    • As am I. The wife and I will take a vacation in the mountains of Arizona soon. I may check out some job opportunities while I’m there. California just loves to make gun laws and restrict concealed carry. There’s so much natural (and fake) beauty here that it would be a shame to leave. Then again, leaving CA would lower my blood pressure considerably. I’m already planning on relocating after retirement, but I may accelerate those plans.

      • “Then again, leaving CA would lower my blood pressure considerably.” Not to mention your off-chart-taxes.

      • Took a drive last week in NV just over the hill from Lake Tahoe. Pretty dry high desert but looks like some good deer hunting in the foothills. Let us know what you find.

  22. Kansas is still solidly the Free State. The Light of Liberty is glass-encased ’cause of the wind, but the rules here are mind your own damned business and lend a hand if asked.

    While minding ones own damned business does by definition mean socially liberal, common courtesy means that the more outré among us keep private so as not to play “freak the mundanes.”

    Yeah, we do have our nuts, but they’re few and far between.

    In the sticks, they don’t really care what you have or do so long as it ain’t nuclear – and if it is nuclear but under a couple kilotons they’ll usually give you the wink. 😉

    Kansas is cool, but don’t tell anyone; we don’t want six million displaced Californians and New Yorkers turning it into an annex of Pacoima or Yonkers.

    • Any state that gave birth to John Riggins is perfectly great with me, even if it does take nearly an entire season to travel the length of it by motor.

      My only problem is not the people or the the ways of the state. You cannot see one mountain from anywhere in the state; you have to travel west beyond La Junta, CO – nearly two hours – before you can see one. Actually, an entire range of them. Mt. Sunflower, the “highest point in Kansas”? A bump in the road.

      You DO have plenty of horizon, though. What you lack in mountains you have in horizon.

      • There’s a mountain in Lawrence. ‘Tain’t much to look at, but geologically it’s a mountain.

        You can see Kansas from the top of Pike’s Peak; logically, it should therefor follow that you can see Pike’s Peak from some part of Kansas.

  23. Kansas is passing some good laws on the state level and I am super happy to be out of New Jersey, but national legislation still worries me some. I’ve emailed my senators and rep a few times through this mess and plan on doing it some more. I know they’re on my side, I just want them to know I appreciate their defense of the 2nd amendment. Kansas will probably follow Texas if there was ever a reason to secede, which may happen in my lifetime I’m afraid.

  24. It is always darkest just before the dawn.

    I see all this as a turning point. They have the votes now… but I think they are overlooking the actual people, and will suffer a backlash in the 2014.

    I also think this damage will hurt the Dem’s in 2016 and (so long as the GOP doesn’t **** it up) we’ll see a republican president, house, and senate in 2016.

    Hopefully in 5-10 years we’ll have turned back a number of these stupid laws, will have seen the end of Sen DiFi, will have a stronger NRA, and will have reminded the law makers that America is full of people that want their guns and will squash any future attempts to disarm us.

    I honestly think the anti crowd thinks they’re making serious gains, when really all they are doing is digging themselves deeper in a hole and waking up the bees nest/sleeping giant that is Gun Loving America.

    • I think you are right that for the most part the Dem have over shot. The Dem got control of Colorado in part because they pretended to be centrist and painted the Rep as being extremist. With this Gun move they showed they were the extremist that many of us know they were. This will effect many local races were the Dem won by smaller margins are likely going to be a tough re-election. Still is going to be a fight in CO since the Dem have a hell of a lot of money to work with and a machine that slams any Rep that even comes close to defeating a Dem with Lies, More Lies, and bold fact Lies.

      Thanks
      Robert

    • I hope you’re right. I actually can see some small gains being made, and some on the horizon. Just remember: they may go away for awhile in a pro-gun climate, but they will NEVER stop for good. Or bad.

  25. I moved to MD last year from Ohio, so a mix of nervousness, annoyance and optimism. SB 281 passing really sucks but to see all the people here trying to fight it tells me I have brothers and sisters in this fight both young and old. I agree with dwb as well. Now we know who’s who plus many up-coming Supreme Court cases originating from this area.

    Ammo at the nearby Big Box is sparse but the Mom and Pop shops are getting ammo. What’s nice is having some family in all the nearby states. I haven’t been able to find .40 S&W but was able to pick up some 380 for my Mom who’s down in VA. She was able to find .40 S&W so we’re able to swap.

    Awesome story time, she was never one to own a gun but Christmas 2012 she said she wanted a gun for CCW. Totally blindsided me but I’m happy to know she’s thinking along the same lines as the rest of her family, since her brother and myself (Ohio CCW) have concealed carry permits. It’s cool because previous years when she asked “what do you want for xmas/bday” I always asked for ammo; she’d say no. Now she says OK! And now she AND my sister have concealed carry permits. We just need to see about getting my sister (in a wheelchair none the less) a carry gun and we should be all set.

    I haven’t decided if I’m going to stay in MD and fight this crap or move to Harper’s Ferry, WV and drive 80 minutes one way to go to work in MD just so I can have an AR-15 (lately a VERY tight budget have kept me from buying one), keep my handguns unregistered AND have a concealed carry permit (in my home state of WV) allowing me to carry when I visit family in VA and WV.

    It’s REALLY tempting to move but I don’t want to abandon those here in MD. It’ll be a while before I can buy an AR anyway so I think I’ll just sit tight and help.

    • In many ways I am in the same boat. Live in Centeral MD so can’t really escape without a huge commute. For now going to fight. I think we have a change in District 32 were I live since we only need a switch of around a 1000 votes for the Rep to take a seat and there is a lot of gun ownership in this area.

      Thanks
      Robert

    • You’re somewhere around Morgantown? Harper’s Ferry IS nice; and across the Potomac, Berryville, VA, is also nice. Check it out while you’re there.

  26. Why does everyone cite LGS reports on ammo supply? Don’t any of you order online?

    I’m feeling the same way I was prior to the unpleasantness – totally indifferent. I have no desire to acquire any ugly-looking, tactical, SOCOM style, picatinny slathered, black plastic crap with ten attachments. Give me wood and steel, heirloom-quality rifles and pistols.

    I don’t care about the ammo shortage much, other than how interesting it is to observe people maxing-out their plastic, buying thousands of dollars worth of ammunition; Some actually have “weekly ammo budgets” (snicker). An interesting study in human behavior.

    • You have made a wise decision indeed, friend. They will NEVER come after your steel-and-wood Grampa Elmer guns after they get the mil-style terrors! You’re a sharp dude, yessiree!!!

    • There have been many posts here about online outlets including LuckyGunner which reports real-time inventory. The point about LGS availability is how much is where in the retail supply chain which of course is very useful data for evaluating the scope and length of future shortages. This is so obvious to an experienced hunter as to need no explanation. Combined with your disdain for other hunters and shooters makes me suspect a sock-puppet spreading FUD.
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear,_uncertainty_and_doubt

      • Many online outlets have no retail storefront, so it was puzzling to me – and not obvious as to why the ammo supply reports seem to mostly be about walk-in stores. A fair question to ponder.

        Your last sentence is not appropriate, and simply not true.

  27. I’m scared as hell being here in CT. Recently purchased an M1a retail and I’m not sure how to proceed with all these laws being passed. Just hide them away until SHTF.

    • Guys were up here (MA) trying to buy ammo and were turned away. Another guy from CT wanted to unload his M&P 15 and none of the gun stores would touch it. The MA store didn’t want to go through the hassle. His price? $300! I would have bought it if I knew if a legal way to do it, but MA laws are unreasonable and confusing. The guy just wanted to get rid of it before the registration BS. 90 days till freedom for me.

  28. I started this fight in 68. Nationally, as far as shall issue goes, we’re in better shape than ever. We have a small but hopefully growing number of constitutional carry states.

    I live in California. Stressfull, yes. But the more freedom other states give and the more draconian states like California and Ny become then the more obvious the injustice becomes. Until the day comes when like eastern Europe the constitution free zones in America can no longer prop themselves up with lies and slight of hand and they have no choice but to rejoin America I will continue the fight.

    Being older and better established than some I have all the guns I need and a stock of ammo. Hopefully enough to ride out the current crisis. I’m looking into an inline muzzleloader as the ammo is readily available.

  29. I’m from America. Doesn’t really matter what state. I would leave this country forever today if I could. For many reasons. But I unable too right now. That is all.

    • Nice to know we can count on you when things get tougher. If not now, WHEN? When the passports are revoked ‘midst domestic turmoil, hope your rowboat’s seaworthy.

  30. It’s time to escape NY. I’m looking at jobs in NH, PA, VA, NC & FL. The wife vetoed TX. GA and SC in play for sure if I can find a job there.

    • Florida would be WONDERFUL. If you could somehow rid it of all the stupid, ignorant people.

  31. I’m resolved. I’m not afraid. Gun rights are civil rights. I’m not going to let a bunch of opportunistic, bigoted politicians deprive me of my rights. They got voted in and they can be voted out! Molon Labe !

  33. Here in Arkansas, the shelves are bare, but the laws are getting better. I just bought reloading equipment to put myself more in control of my ammunition. My carry license is recognized by forty states. We’re also open for business.

  34. I am stuck in the sleep state of New Jersey. Recently they passed a bunch of new laws, but I don’t think they will quit there. I have always supported gun rights, but never bothered to buy any guns myself. After Newtown, I decided it was finally time. Probably past time.

    I have a safe on order, and my purchaser identification cards have finally come through. And I am not alone. About half the guys I know are buying their first guns. I have become a Gun Rights Voter, because I figure that any politician who will not trust me with a gun is not somebody I trust.

  35. i feel a little pessimistic. i feel like in ca if you talk about guns you will have the swat waiting at your door. on the bright side, i feel ammo is a little easier to find than a month ago.

  36. I live in the county north of NYC. I’m less than 12 miles from the city limits. To say I am behind enemy lines is an understatement. I just walked from my apartment to the gym, about 2/10ths of a mile. I passed 8 different types of signs with instructions about what not to do. “No dogs allowed”, “no standing”, “no parking”. I was admonished that I was under video surveillance when I entered the parking garage. 8 3/4 % sales tax awaits me when I shop on the way home. 8 7/8 % state income tax, $17,000 a year in property taxes means I’m shelling out almost $35,000 a year to the county and state. Oh I get a deduction for the property taxes ? Thanks master, appreciate it. How am I doin’ ? Not too good. I can’t buy a modern sporting rifle. Can’t buy a pistol, can’t even touch one at a store or the range without a permission slip from the state. I’m done butt lickin’ ! I’m going to be alright when all civilian disarmament is defeated in dc and these new state laws are overturned. But I’m not taking any chances. I’m headed to a safe zone as soon as possible. Oh, and you want to see what gun control looks Like in an affluent community, come to westchester county. There are precious few stores, only a few pistol ranges. Make guns hard to buy, hard to use and you sap energy from the pro 2A crowd. I take newbies to the range to shoot rifles and I have to drive an hour to get to an indoor one. The laws are the first step. Once the have a law then they breed liberty out of the populace. Govt thrives when citizens depend on it.

    • Blueline Tactical in Elmsford is opening a range this summer. At least I hope they are, range has supposed to be opening for a while now. It will be rifle and pistol and not only will they allow you to bring a newbee shooting, they “actively encourage” it.

      If not, I’m looking to join a private gun club.

      Yes, Westchester County sucks for gun owners. Wonder if we saw each other on that famous map?

  37. Lexington, KY – guns not scarce, ARs aplenty in local shops, no serious price gouging, ammo is out there, but you need to know where to look. The one category of items not available are reloading components…pretty scarce.

  38. I’m optimistic in Wisconsin, there is barely a peep out of Walker or anyone else except the good thinking of Sheriff Clark. We have been kicked when we were down & grieving with the rest of the country. Yes, I think we can get up, Randy

  40. Westchester County, New York. I’m a libertarian kind of guy, and up until the SAFE Act, thought Cuomo was an okay governor. Now I despise him and pray for the miracle that would be his defeat. (Fat chance.)

    I think we’re splitting into two nations, one where freedom is valued and one where it is not. Blue states are lost, as far as I am concerned. I expect to see a few more go slave before this is over.

    As for guns, things in New York are so confused I had to rush buy a lever-action rifle in .44mag before April 15 because it had a ten-round magazine. No one on the state “help” line could decide if that was going to be legal or not. “We never thought about lever-action” is the actual quote. Well duh, a lot you didn’t think about.

    I put a ton of money into buying extra 10 round magazines for all my guns as well as two guns I plan to buy one day.

    I am feeling oppressed, beaten, and genuinely worried for the future.

    But I am taking action, writing, donating, marching, and most importantly (I think) taking as many newbees to the range as possible.

    Guns and ammo? Not really important to me right now. I had a decent stockpile well before Newton and kept it up. Pulled wayyyy back on my shooting since all my money went to that lever-action and all those magazines. Prices are coming down, check gunbot, and I won’t need to seriously restock for a few more months.

    At least I got my AR last October. Now I have to decide if I am going to comply and register, or pray for a SCOTUS overturn before April 15, 2014.

    Oh to live in Arizona again.

    • Fellow Noo Yawkuh from Long Island. Fortunately, I own nothing affected by the SAFE act. Just Mini-14s, Garands, M1903 & 10/22s. I’m fairly sure lever actions are not affected, no matter the mag capacity or what the State Troopers say.

      I won’t advise you on registration, except to say, it’s a one-way trip. You can’t UN-register.

  41. I’m upset and I feel i’m surrounded by idiots. Not just idiots, but ignorant, lazy, cowardice idiots that tremble in fear that their neighbor “might” have a firearm.

  42. I live in a free state, for now. Sadly I do not see it staying free forever without another round of bloodshed. I suppose this is what they meant by refreshing the tree of freedom.

  44. Shout out from “Liberal Occupied” IL……

    Hardly any ammo in the “central downstate” region. Glad I have a .300 win mag, @ least Wally World has that in stock.

    Only thing I can be “optomistic” about is the fact that a change IS coming, be it good, or bad, @ least it’s coming. Our current regeme in DC seems to think that the “mass’s” that “cling to their religion and guns” will go along quietly with what is happening.

    I’d tend to dissagree, but, I’m only 1 person too…..

  45. My reaction to all this bull feces was to get my wife and two daughters guns of their own and teach them how to properly and safely use them. Keep in mind my wife was someone who ‘supported the 2nd Amendment’ just not when it came to her….or me….or our kids….or our house….so this was a major breakthrough.

    I’ve taken them all to the range a couple of times each but it’s been limited because 1) I don’t like shooting indoors, especially with the kids because space is tight and it makes it more difficult, but not impossible, to give direction. 2) It gets expensive to take four people to an indoor range with any kind of regularity 3) Ammo availability/pricing has been well…you know. The important thing is they all look forward to the next time we can go shoot!

  46. Pessimistic here in MD (no joke – look at our latest new laws !).

    While you can never have too many guns, I suspect my buying days are over, at least until I move out of state, which is a done deal. So just buying ammo in bulk, online. Already have lots and lots of standard capacity mags for all I own.

    Laying low, otherwise. Even after becoming politically active locally, it was not a waste of time. But a waste, none the less. In this state, the only way to influence things is to register as a Dem, keep track of the primaries, and vote out everyone we can.

  47. I’m currently very pessimistic. But then I’m always pessimistic.

    Things tend to go from bad to worse in this country lately. We have a radical leftist President who’s already appointed two very leftist Supreme Court justices. He’s likely to have at least one more crack at it before his second term is up–and that justice will likely also be replaced with a very leftist judge. We have a Congress half full of people who either want to take our rights away, or who won’t admit to wanting to take our rights away. (Either way they stopped listening to us years ago).

    I believe more and more states will fall as the years go on. More and more restrictions will work their way from the coasts inland. New England and California now. In 10 years? Everything around the Great Lakes, everything north of the Mason-Dixon, everything west of Texas (except maybe Montana, Wyoming and Idaho). In 20? Gone. The swing states of today will be solid blue by 2020 (now that voter fraud can be accomplished with impunity) Texas will be a blue state by 2030.

    Of course the nation will go bankrupt and the economy will collapse long before any of this happens, so it’s sort of moot.

  48. Not being able to drive to the local sporting goods store and buy 20 round round boxes of .223 for around $8 and 50 round boxes of 9mm for $13 whenever I wanted, like I could 5 months ago, is heart breaking.

    I bought a M&P shield 9mm in mid February and haven’t found any ammo to shoot through it, so I don’t even carry my new carry gun… this sucks.

  49. Pessimistic, since U.S. gun owners are STILL too …(yes.. what are they? At odds, too lazy, too divided, too well adapted, too anxious, too…?) and do not act in concert, thereby loosing much of their political power and influence.

  50. Got it’s ups and downs. Ammo can be found esp. .40S&W/.45ACP. no .22LR mags are out there and with the Magpul Mag lift in full swing anyone that can’t get at least 5 PMAGS @ MSRP is uninformed. Gun shows and private sales are your best bet for Guns. The new Chickenpooper/ Bloombugger Gun laws don’t hit till Jul 1st. No one I know is going to stop private sales without background checks or private sales of mags. As a show of how much we want our tyrannical overlords to FOAD certain groups are collecting empty +15 Magazine packages,wrappers,boxes and sending them in bulk to elected officials offices as well as post cards simply marked MOLON LAABE.

  51. I’ve lived in Colorado nearly all my life and love it, but recently I’ve been checking employment adds in Texas. If the government can’t trust me with my guns, then I can’t trust them with anything.

  52. Well being from Northern Cali, whenever I’m back there and can go shoot its alright. Definitely harder to get ammo, (even 12ga was tough last time I was there a moth or so ago) but for some reason the only place that has the .22 WRF for my 1890 always has it so we get to have our fun. Now as far as arming myself in my newer home of Brooklyn, it’s a completely different story. It’s so difficult to even start the process, I mean you need a birth certificate, social security card, some other ID like a passport, a couple hundred bucks for the application and another hundo for fingerprinting! For a pump shotgun. Or a bolt action .22. It’s going to be a challenge, but I’m suiting up as we speak so we’ll have to see how this goes and hope that nanny Bloomberg doesn’t place an outright ban on firearms sometime in the few months it will certainly take to see if I can even get a permit… And yet I saw a couple kids on the train who had some printing goin on in the back of their pants… This shit is insane.

  53. Here in GA it’s not too bad. Guns and ammo are returing to availability, though still a little higher priced than pre panic. Regulation wise I’m not too worried on the state level. Don’t trust Nathan Deal, but we’re still red enough other than the metro areas that I don’t think any sillyness would pass.

    I am concerned that the next four years are going to be hell on gun owners, and every time we have another “mass shooting” it will stoke the fires against us. If we make it the next four years without getting screwed of our rights it will be a surprise to me.

  54. Connecticut native, so I feel bad for my freinds back home.For thoes who carry as well as my brother and sister first responders in Newton who no doubt will have a long road ahead of them.

    As far as MY rights. Im comfortable at a state level. Tennessee is pretty decent in thoes regards. Ammo, discouraged. Federal, frustrated but optimistic.

    How am I right now? Im on the deck of my 16th floor condo in Destin, Florida looking at the Gulf.

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